Children's Home run by Shore Care Services Limited in East Riding of Yorkshire

Inspection report for children’s home: 2666037 1 Registered provider: Shore Care Services Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is owned and managed by a private company and provides care for up to four children with social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager of the home is suitably qualified and registered with Ofsted in May 2022. There were four children living in the home at the time of the inspection.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

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good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

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good

The children’s home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2666037 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

07/03/2023 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2666037 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff have warm, positive relationships with the children in this home. One child said that they ‘really like’ all the staff and another said that they ‘love’ living in the home. The children know that the staff are invested in them, which in turn makes the children feel safe and happy.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The registered manager and staff work hard to forge positive relationships with the children’s extended families. Conversations the inspector had with families were all positive. Family members value the relationships they have with the staff and registered manager, with one family member saying, ‘It isn’t like a children’s home at all, it’s like a real home.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The registered manager and staff have advocated strongly for the children to have education placements that work for them. They have pushed for the children to have the right support and to have statutory assessments so that their needs can be met, and they ensure that children’s voices are heard at education meetings. All of the children now have education provision in place and attend regularly. As a result, children have all made progress from their individual starting points.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home has created memory books for each child, which they will take with them when they move on. However, staff need to ensure that the books are updated regularly as they can quickly go out of date and lose their importance and meaning for the children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Independence work is being carried out with the children in preparation for when it is time for them to move on. However, how this is planned and completed is not clear and does not link to the children’s assessments of need. The recording of this independence work is also disjointed, which means that the progress children are making is difficult to understand.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Physical interventions are not used in this home. Staff are skilled at using de- escalation techniques with the children, which means that they do not have to resort to holding them to keep everyone safe. The staff have good relationships with the children, which contributes to there being no need for physical interventions to be used.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Children rarely go missing from the home. When this has happened, staff have responded appropriately, steps have been taken to locate the child and the police have been notified. Relevant documents are updated and children’s missing protocols are followed. A return home interview is carried out when children return to the home. Inspection report for children’s home: 2666037 4 Incidents of unwanted behaviour in this home are rare. When they do happen, staff manage them appropriately and follow the required procedures. If staff have had to search any of the children’s rooms as a result of an incident or safeguarding concern, this has been done sensitively. The child has been present and the reason for the search has been fully explained to them.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Each child has individualised risk assessments. These highlight known risks and anticipate risks that could happen. The records are thorough and are regularly updated. However, one child did not have a trip away from the home adequately risk assessed, and appropriate contingency planning was not carried out. This resulted in there being an incident during the trip, in which the child could have come to harm.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

The home has a current fire risk assessment, which details what should happen in the event of a fire. However, there are several internal fire doors that do not close properly, which would not prevent spread in the event of a fire. A previously unused part of the home is now being used as a gym and cinema room, but this area has not been fire risk assessed since children started using it. The registered manager has now made arrangements for this to be carried out shortly.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff and professionals speak highly of the registered manager and describe her as knowledgeable, friendly and approachable. It is clear that staff value the support that she provides and how she encourages them to expand their knowledge and skills so that they can develop in their roles.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has an ambitious vision for the home and for the children that she and the staff care for. She is heavily invested in the children and wants to ensure that they can achieve their full potential. She has been instrumental in ensuring that the children have positive relationships with people who are important to them. The registered manager has worked with the staff to promote and encourage these important relationships in a safe way.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Team meetings and staff supervisions are held regularly. The home’s clinical psychologist attends team meetings and can consult with staff should they require therapeutic input in their work with children. The registered manager uses team meetings as an opportunity to hold bespoke learning workshops that enhance the skills of the staff. Meetings are prioritised so that the time can be used effectively to benefit the team and, in turn, the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has monitoring systems in place to ensure that she has effective oversight of the home. However, there has been one occasion when she failed to send a safeguarding notification to Ofsted. This means that the regulator has not been able to scrutinise how the matter was dealt with at the time to ensure that children were safeguarded effectively. Inspection report for children’s home: 2666037 5 The registered manager implemented a process where staff lock the kitchen door at night. This action has not been informed by children’s risk assessments. As such, this restricts the access that the children have to that part of the home. It has also not been reviewed to ensure that it is proportionate.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager seeks external scrutiny of the home through an independent person who visits monthly. However, for a sustained period, the independent person’s reports have not included thorough consultation with parents or family members of the resident children. This has not been challenged by the registered manager or responsible individual. Inspection report for children’s home: 2666037 6

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered person must take to meet The Care Standards Act 2000, The Children’s Homes (England) Regulations 2015 and the ‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’. The registered person must comply within the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

The protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure—

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Requirement Due date

assess whether each child is at risk of harm, taking into account information in the child’s relevant plans, and, if necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand how to keep safe;

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Requirement Due date

have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm;

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Requirement Due date

manage relationships between children to prevent them from harming each other;

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Requirement Due date

understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person;

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Requirement Due date

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare; and

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Requirement Due date

are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home’s child protection policies. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, thorough risk assessments must be completed for all activities, both in and out of the home. 1 December 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: 2666037 7 The leadership and management standard is that the registered person enables, inspires and leads a culture in relation to the children’s home that—

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Requirement Due date

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

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Requirement Due date

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(h))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, there should be appropriate monitoring and scrutiny of information provided by external sources to ensure that this can be used to improve the care the home provides.

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Requirement Due date

In addition, there needs to be appropriate agreement and review of any measures that restrict children’s access in the home so that this remains proportionate and in line with the risk assessments of each child. 1 December 2023

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Requirement Due date

After consultation with the fire and rescue authority, the registered person must—

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Requirement Due date

provide adequate means of escape from the home in the event of fire. (Regulation 25 (1)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, all fire doors should close properly to stop the spread of fire, as stated in the fire risk assessment.

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Requirement Due date

In addition, the previously unused areas of the home that are now in frequent use must be included in the fire risk assessment. 1 December 2023

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that all children are supported to develop independence skills to help them prepare to move on from the home. This needs to be documented and reviewed in a way that shows progress for the child. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 17, paragraph 3.27)  The registered person should ensure that each child has a record of the time they spend living in the home that captures their memories and significant life events. Inspection report for children’s home: 2666037 8 This needs to be kept up to date to ensure that it holds value and importance for the child. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.5)

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young people, using the social care common inspection framework. This inspection was carried out under The Care Standards Act 2000 to assess the effectiveness of the service, how it meets the core functions of the service as set out in legislation, and to consider how well it complies with The Children’s Homes (England) Regulations 2015 and the ‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’. Inspection report for children’s home: 2666037 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Shore Care Services Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Suite 2a Blackthorn House, Mary Ann Street, St Pauls Square, Birmingham B3 1RL

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Inspector

Gail McGann, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2666037 10 to achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children’s social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, further education and skills, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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